Electronics make up about 40 percent of the automotive systems

SINGAPORE: Avinash Gupta, country manager, Automotive at Renesas Electronics Singapore, talks about the factors driving the increase in electronics in India’s automotive market.

CIOL: What are you witnessing in India’s automotives these days?

Avinash Gupta: We are witnessing a shift from purely mechanical systems to more electronics systems in a car or a bike. This shift started a decade ago and today, electronics make up about 40 percent of the automotive systems.

In two-wheelers, body control module, lighting, chassis, safety and security systems are now electronic. Similarly, in four-wheelers, electronic power steering, central locking, infotainment, ABS, ECUs are becoming the norm these days.

Indian automakers are getting more competitive in their designs and quality. We see more entry level cars with more electronics previously available in mid to high-end cars. For eg., central locking is now de-facto standard for all cars. And the typical gauge type dashboards are getting replaced by TFT Graphics. Even for two-wheelers, analog speedometers are replaced by LCDs.

AG: Yes, we expect electronics content to increase to 50-60 percent in the next two to three years. Compared to developed countries’ share of 70 percent electronics systems in cars today, this trend is set to continue.

Also, the number of functions available in today’s vehicles is leading to a more complex electronic architecture and more ECUs. We are introducing the gateway system to reduce wire harnesses and to act as the central electronic control module. It has higher grade controller functions to ensure smooth, safe and correct communication between all ECUs.

CIOL: What are the key drivers for this trend?

AG: Several factors are driving this shift. Auto drivers these days want more intelligence in the vehicle systems with increased reliability and auto failure detection for some of the key sub-systems. Rising purchasing power and consumer affluence are leading to a demand for more features such as infotainment, comfort and performance.

There is also growing awareness for safety and the environment with governments stepping up on emission requirements such as the BS IV and the future BSI V in three to four years’ time.

CIOL: How is Renesas helping India automakers?

AG: Renesas is today the leading MCU supplier for the automotive market in India. We offer dedicated microcontroller series in each automotive application. We have been working closely with OEMs and Tier 1 automakers providing our customized solutions for their product designs.

Renesas has developed several solutions for two-wheelers such as ignition system CDI (capacitor discharge ignition) and TCI (transistorized coupled ignition), smart regulator, to name a few. Currently, we are developing EFI (electronic fuel injection system) to help meet BS IV emission norms requirement. We expect the pace of adoption in 2W to accelerate faster.